Environment Minnesota Research & Policy Center is a project of Environment America Research & Policy Center, which is a 501(c)(3) organization. We are dedicated to protecting our air, water and open spaces.

We should be able to power our lives without polluting our environment. We have the ability to produce and consume energy and still enjoy healthy communities — and give our children and their children a livable future. That’s why we’re calling on cities, universities, businesses, and our state governments to commit to 100% renewable energy.

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Recycling rates in major cities throughout Minnesota reveal one of the better states in the nation in terms of waste management. Yet, there is still plenty of room for improvement. According to the most recent study, Minnesota’s statewide recycling rate of 43.6 percent eclipses the 2015 national average of 34.7 percent. Part of Minnesota’s success can be attributed to the creation of specific goals and strategies. By 2030, Minnesota plans to achieve a 75 percent recycling rate for counties in the Twin Cities Metro area and a 35 percent rate in Greater Minnesota by 2030.

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America's current fleet of gasoline-powered cars and trucks leaves us dependent on oil, contributes to air pollution problems that threaten our health, and produces large amounts of global warming pollution. "Plug-in" cars are emerging as an effective way to lower global warming emissions, oil use, and smog.

The Sherburne County coal-fired power plant near Becker, MN is the dirtiest power plant in Minnesota based on carbon dioxide (CO2) pollution ranking it as the 13th dirtiest plant in the country for 2007, according to a new analysis of government data released today by Environment Minnesota.

Far from a solution to global warming, nuclear power will actually set America back in the race to reduce pollution, according to a new report by Environment Minnesota. Leading environmental organizations are calling on states and Congress to focus on energy efficiency and renewable energy instead of nuclear power as the solution to global warming.

Industrial facilities dumped over 2 million pounds of toxic chemicals into Minnesota’s waterways, according to a report released today by Environment Minnesota: Wasting Our Waterways: Industrial Toxic Pollution and the Unfulfilled Promise of the Clean Water Act. The report also finds that toxic chemicals were discharged in 1,900 waterways across all 50 states.

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Environment Minnesota Research and Policy Center gratefully accepts bequests, beneficiary designations of IRAs and life insurance, and gifts of securities on behalf of Environment America Research and Policy Center to support our work. Your gift will assure that we can continue to protect our air, water and open spaces for future generations.